A Moment of Peace
The ground shook with a deafening roar.
-BOOM!!!!
-BANG!!!!
Artillery shells rained down, sending pillars of earth exploding toward the sky before they cascaded back onto the brim of my cap.
I immediately turned my head to check the rank insignia on my shoulder.
'...Captain.'
One rank below my own as a Major.
If the perspective was set one year earlier, then…
Then this was that dream again.
The one from the height of the war against the vampires.
"Captain…!!"
The dream of the day I lost one of my most loyal subordinates.
My subordinate came running toward me.
'No…'
'You can't come over here.'
I muttered the words inside my head, but Bermann didn't stop. He kept charging forward.
And so, instead of me, five bullet holes tore open across his abdomen.
It was because I hadn't drunk blood the previous day.
It was all my fault.
"C-Captain…"
"Ber…mann…?"
"Thank goodness… Please, I beg you… exterminate the vampires in my place…"
Bermann spoke while coughing up thick gouts of blood.
Even though he'd been struck right after the hero appointment ceremony, Bermann was smiling.
"…Please wipe them out. The vampires, in my stead… Urk…!"
"Captain Bermann!! Get a hold of yourself! You cannot lose consciousness…!"
I pressed desperately on the gunshot wounds, trying to stem the bleeding.
But the blood wouldn't stop pouring. It gushed from the bullet holes in rhythmic spurts of crimson.
And yet, the emotion that washed over me as I watched that sight was—
'…I want to live…'
A ferocious will to survive.
I had gone hungry for far too long.
Far, far too long.
"All this time… haah… haah… it was an honor to serve as your adjutant, Captain… I was… happy…"
Bermann forced a smile even as he spoke, his face twisted in agony.
Watching that pained smile, I shed tears while at the same time—
-Drip.
—I drooled.
It could all be easier.
With nothing but that single thought, I embraced Bermann as his breathing grew ragged and shallow.
Then my fangs sank deep into the side of his neck.
"…I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"Captain… you couldn't be…"
"I'm sorry…"
"…You were a vam…pire…"
That was as far as he got.
Bermann drew his final breath.
I never learned whether, in that last moment, he had meant to curse me or bless me.
I couldn't bring myself to look at the corpse of the man I had drained.
I never saw what expression he wore at the end.
"…I'm sorry…"
"I'm so sorry…"
I simply held Bermann's rapidly cooling body and whispered those words, tears streaming endlessly down my face.
I had done nothing for the subordinate who sacrificed himself for me—nothing except sink my fangs into him like some disgusting beast.
That day, one of my most loyal men died.
And I awakened once more to my own ugliness.
The battle that day ended in a crushing victory, driven by my grief-stricken rampage.
Yet none of it was thanks to me.
"We dedicate this victory to the glory of all who fell, with Captain Bermann representing every last one of them…"
It was thanks to everyone who had given their lives in that fight.
Without Bermann, I would have been the one lying dead.
Outside, rain fell in a steady drizzle.
Listening to the droplets strike the window, I bolted upright in bed.
"Haah… haah…"
My breathing came rough and ragged.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
Cold sweat soaked my entire body, leaving my skin clammy and unpleasant.
Only after I confirmed the peaceful scenery outside did my breathing finally ease and the cold sweat stop.
Then I collapsed back onto the bed with a heavy thud.
The dream had been ominous.
It felt like something was about to happen.
I put a cigarette between my lips to calm my nerves.
"…Huu…"
It wasn't one I'd stolen from Eryk—just a cheap, ordinary cigarette.
'…Not very good.'
Thinking that, I ground the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray until it went out.
I rose from the bed, opened the window to air out the room, and tried to shake off the lingering unease.
After that I bathed, then put on my uniform.
"My body… feels refreshed."
Despite my troubled mind, my limbs didn't feel heavy at all.
There was no ache in my stomach—on the contrary, I felt invigorated.
Probably the aftereffect of having indulged in blood until I nearly lost my mind.
I looked at the girl reflected in the mirror and straightened my medals so they sat perfectly.
After adjusting my cap, I studied her again.
Her face was terrifyingly expressionless, with deep, dark circles under her eyes.
I put the cigarette back in my mouth as I stared at that girl.
My new appearance—one I had grown far too used to.
"…I'm too short."
My growth period had already passed. I wouldn't get any taller.
It felt a little unfair, but there was nothing I could do about it.
After all, I was the one who had refused to drink blood.
"…I'm hungry."
Muttering to myself, I prepared breakfast.
I tied an apron over my uniform so it wouldn't get dirty, pulled my hair back, and removed my cap.
"Looks like I won't need to sprinkle pig blood today."
It was safer to mix it in as a precaution, but today I simply didn't want to.
Human blood was far more efficient.
Especially blood from a living person rather than a corpse—it let me last much longer on a smaller amount.
That was why vampires kidnapped humans so frequently.
It was both efficient and tasted comparatively less revolting.
"I should thank Eryk for that."
With that thought, I sat down in front of the finished meal.
French toast with a perfect golden-brown crust—something I could never have tasted on the battlefield.
Beside it lay eggs and bacon.
A small teacup held coffee.
"I don't like bitter things."
I dropped two sugar cubes into the cup with a soft plop.
After a leisurely breakfast, I lit another cigarette and headed for the office.
All along the corridor, subordinates snapped to attention and saluted.
I returned each salute and met their respectful gazes.
There had once been those who looked down on me, thinking I was just a child.
"…M-Major…!"
"Yes."
I had disciplined every last one of them, just like the trembling rookies I'd passed earlier.
The memory of them sobbing and dripping snot after getting beaten was still vivid.
Normally I would have entered my own office, but—
"…Ugh."
"Salute."
"…Loyalty."
These days I had to conduct my duties in the office of the single most uncomfortable person in the world.
It was raining again today.
I took out my raincoat from my station.
Since today was a training day, I intended to go observe.
'…It's Jenny, Kyle, and Kriha's training today.'
That was why.
"…Let's go together."
"Did I mishear you?"
"No, you heard correctly. Vampires have exceptionally good hearing, after all."
"……"
Eryk glared at me, deliberately emphasizing the word vampire.
I felt a twinge of discomfort under that stare, but I couldn't refuse.
On the surface, Eryk was still my superior officer.
"…Understood. Let's go."
At my words, Eryk finished organizing his documents and picked up an umbrella.
"Why bring the raincoat on purpose?"
"…It is difficult for me to watch my subordinates get injured."
"……"
"It makes me anxious. What if they are wounded and die meaninglessly?"
I hated seeing my subordinates hurt.
The Imperial Army's training was brutal.
Even delicate young women received no leniency; they had to meet the exact same standards to become true soldiers.
With my small frame, I had nearly died several times just trying to pass those tests.
If I hadn't been a vampire, I certainly would have.
I felt uneasy thinking about my subordinates enduring that regimen day after day.
Of course, having someone of my rank watching might only add to their pressure.
Eryk matched his stride to mine.
I looked up at him.
"…Why are you matching my pace instead of walking ahead?"
"There is something I must tell you, Major."
Eryk looked at me as he spoke.
I met his gaze with my usual blank expression.
"It seems the war is about to begin again."
"…!!"
"…Did you truly not know?"
The war starting again—this soon?
In Glory of Victory 1, after the vampires were conquered, the next scene should have been—
'…The medal award ceremony three months from now.'
That was definitely the scene.
Something had gone wrong.
I was still feeling that uncomfortable sense of dissonance when—
The story of Glory of Victory 2 will soon begin!
In the holy war that will raise the Empire's prestige, make your name known.
Survive, and find the meaning of life.
At any rate, survive this time as well…!
May the glory of victory be with you.
The system, silent for five long years, had finally delivered the message that this world had entered a new phase.
And the consequences of that message reached us before long.
"Major, the higher-ups have decided to form a small elite unit with you and me at its core."
"Major Valentine, you will once again—"
-KWAANG!!!!!!
The question of whether I would offer glory to the Empire was swallowed by a massive explosion.
A tremendous blast.
Eryk and I turned toward the source at the same time.
"…The civilian residential district?"
"…Let's move."
I nodded at Eryk's words.
I quickly grabbed my black blade and broke into a run.
The drizzling rain carried the metallic stench of blood.
Wherever puddles had formed, the water was a dark, murky red.
It told us that the brief moment of peace we had been granted—
"Aaaaargh…!!"
"My leg… my leg…!!"
"Medic!! We need a medic!!"
"Hey, rookie! Snap out of it…!!"
—was now over.
The place we ran to was a scene straight out of hell.
Yet my mind had grown strangely, coldly clear.
"All troops!! Attention!!!"
I shouted at the gathered soldiers.
"Move the wounded to the medical station!!"
"Magic and artillery units, locate the enemy aircraft immediately and shoot them down! Everyone to your positions!!"
Only then did the panicked soldiers begin moving with coordinated purpose.
"…Well done, Major Valentine. Not bad for a vampire."
"…Is this really the time for that kind of talk?"
Hell had literally broken loose, yet the so-called protagonist was muttering nonsense.
"Contact the imperial family at once. Tell them we've been bombed."
I spat on the ground, walked past Eryk, and began searching for my own subordinates.
'…Kriha, Jenny, Kyle. Please be safe.'
I had a responsibility to protect them—they had been Bermann's comrades, after all.