Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 116



115 – Awakening (8)

According to old legends, silver and mercury are the weaknesses of all kinds of monsters. Whether that’s true or not, the vampire certainly looked like she was losing her strength.

Although, what living creature would be okay after getting shot?

“These sons of b*tches, really…”

The fact that she was still alive after taking that much damage was monstrous in itself. If it were a human, they’d have died more than a dozen times over from that attack just now.

The vampire muttered an incantation.

[“Gō.”]

The blood flowing through the vampire’s body rose against gravity, then solidified rapidly, forming a wall. A wall wide and thick enough to completely cover the cross-section of the hallway.

“Playing tricks, are we.”

Tat-tat-tat!

The sound of bullets ricocheting echoed from beyond the wall. The vampire replenished the blood draining from the cracks forming in the wall, repairing the front.

With the monster distracted by what was directly ahead, this was our chance.

As I quietly gestured, Salvira unleashed her webs all at once. And in the next moment, my eyes met the vampire’s. She frowned and asked.

“…Salvira, what are you doing?”

[“Can’t you see?”]

“Ah, betrayal?”

The vampire’s lips twisted.

“Even you are betraying me… Well, I actually knew it. I was planning to kill you right after the ritual ended, but you’re hurrying your four deaths along.”

Magic filled with rage could be felt. It was overwhelming. A vampire was a vampire, it seemed.

The three freed female soldiers retrieved the magic stones they had prepared in advance. As Miyu and Commander Adora poured magic into the stones, weapons materialized in the air.

The Valkyrie aimed a steel spear, the Saintess a baculus, and Riyo a crossbow.

“Material transfer magic…?”

The vampire chuckled dryly, then changed the subject.

“Salvira, let me just ask you one thing. Where did the old you go? What happened to that valiant legion commander who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of humans? All that’s left is a coward who clings to humans?”

[“I just… realized something. That an era for the demon race won’t come with rule based on force.”]

“Did she hit her head?”

Salvira’s expression was complex.

Conversely, the vampire’s eyes were filled with conviction.

Having finished clearing away the webs, I retreated backward. Salvira naturally stepped forward, confronting the vampire. She said.

[“Disciple, leave this to your master and fall back.”]

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[“No.”]

I answered.

[“Why tell us to go back when we can fight together?”]

[“This is my business. I need to see this through. It has nothing to do with you lot.”]

[“Isn’t a master’s business also the disciple’s business?”]

Salvira turned only her upper body to look at us.

[“We haven’t even known each other long. Have you already grown attached? You might not know it, but I’ve killed countless people in the past…”]

[“I’m the kind of person who has to pay back what I receive. And besides, isn’t the altar right in front of us?”]

[“…I told you that when you’re in a hurry, you should turn back.”]

[“When you’re in a hurry, you should go faster, why turn back?”]

[“A foolish disciple.”]

It was a reproachful tone, but Salvira’s face seemed to be smiling with pleasure. From the start, she wanted us to stay here.

I drew up some of the mana within me. If before it was like pouring water into a cup, now it was a heavy sensation, like hauling up a bucket from a well.

We can win.

*

Befisha was caught between a rock and a hard place.

In front of the altar was Admiral Abraham Dietz, and behind him were Salvira and the human whelps.

Both sides had turned into enemies.

What was especially irritating was that b*tch Salvira. Seeing the offerings, who were supposed to be sacrificed, instead brandishing weapons and shaming him made his blood boil.

“Insects…”

How the hell did we get to this point?

How did the Demon Lord’s army fall so far that one of the only three remaining Legion Commanders would betray us?

If I want to shut down all these questions tearing through my head, I need him.

The Demon Lord.

The supreme being who bound the fractured demon society together with overwhelming power. If only he were here, the demons’ world would dawn again.

“You think this will make me give up?”

Even fallen, Bepisha is of the progenitor’s bloodline. Her blood manipulation is on another level compared to ordinary ghouls.

Just a slight parting of her lips, and she could gracefully, elegantly seize the enemy’s blood vessels and make blood pour from every orifice.

That’s how it should be.

“……?!”

An unidentified mana was completely blocking Bepisha’s magic.

Feeling the mana signature, it wasn’t Salvira’s. Completely unfamiliar.

What the hell is this?

To not be able to remotely use blood flow manipulation, practically my greatest strength, is like fighting with one arm cut off.

For a moment, Bepisha faltered.

“Heh, fine. I’ll tear your hearts out with my bare hands.”

Bepisha shot forward like a bullet.

Holding out with blood walls in front while taking out the trash in front of her as quickly as possible was the top priority.

Bepisha’s mana domain and Salvira’s mana domain collide.

*Crackle!*

Spider silk drinks blood, and blood soaks the spider silk. Salvira heavily blocks Bepisha’s Blood Spear aimed at her heart, and in that gap, the nets from the ceiling fall upon Bepisha.

There’s nowhere to run.

Not unless you can fly.

Bepisha becomes a bat and swiftly escapes the encirclement.

“Ah, my skills aren’t what they used to be. Neither are yours. Right?”

[“……Because of the peace.”]

“My body’s really stiffened up. This won’t do. More, more, more great wars will break out endlessly in the future, so shouldn’t we practice in advance?”

[“Tch.”]

“I’ll deliver the message well to ‘Him’. That when you resurrect, the only loyal retainers who survived were this one, me, and the Sea Dragon Leviathan.”

[“Smooth-tongued as ever.”]

“Ha.”

Bepisha, sighing, grips the Blood Spear. At the same time, Salvira’s fingertips, which had been manipulating silk threads, point right in front of her.

[“Shoot (射).”]

[“Silk (絲).”]

The offensives of the two legion commanders collide.

From one side, blood surges, and from the other, silk. The corridor is no longer a corridor. The walls undulate like liquid and the floor writhes like soft cloth.

Not easy.

It’s fine. Bepisha is more skilled in both magic power and manipulation. Not all legion commanders have the same abilities. Salvira was being slowly pushed back in the contest of magic power, unleashed with precision.

But then.

Swish!

An arrow flew, grazing Vefiša’s left cheek.

“Which b*stard…!”

A feint.

From the lower left, a sharp spear blade lunged.

“Goddess of battle.”

[“…Flow.”]

Panic broke his concentration.

Kaga-gang!

Vefiša barely managed to parry Rachel’s ambush. The moment it clashed with the spear, reinforced with divine power, his fingertips went numb. This is humiliating. If it were a one-on-one, that b*tch would be insta-killed…!

But, even this was a feint.

“———.”

Unspeakable.

The language of the Goddess, a voice vampires hated more than anything else.

The moment that voice resonated, a blinding burst of light erupted.

“Ugh!”

Unlike Salvira, who stood with his back to the light, Vefiša had to step back, a burning pain searing his eyes.

Like this, he couldn’t trust his sight. He’d have to fight relying solely on echolocation.

This time, gnats flew in from both sides, unleashing magic.

Lapis lazuli, Sea flower stone, Red-green stone, Scar stone, all combat magic stones used for piercing, cutting, or setting things ablaze. This much, a vampire body could endure.

But the next attack was beyond imagining.

[“Ocean, breathe.”]

*Thwack.* The sound as a stone slammed into my back, digging into my pale skin like a burning brand.

Befesha’s body was engulfed in hellfire.

The vampire screamed, a sound ripped raw. A new kind of burning, one I’d never known. I couldn’t tell if I was screaming, or if the scream was screaming me. Just…too much pain.

[‘White phosphorus. Our handiwork.’]

[‘We agreed never to use it again. But there wasn’t a choice this time.’]

Voices, male and unknown.

[‘Ugh, just looking at it makes me sick.’]

[‘I never want to relive that feeling.’]

The voices of women followed.

Now I saw it. It wasn’t just one. Hidden souls were springing out, targeting Befesha.

Hot. Goddamn hot, I can’t take it. I loathed the touch of water, but I’d drown myself in a sunbaked river right now.

Burning, Befesha forced his eyes open.

“Worthless worm-fucks who can’t do shit alone….”

Look at that woman, black hair, gold eyes. I felt the same power as those heroes I’d faced.

Look at Lumina, white-haired. Her divine power eclipsed even that elf priestess from that day.

Look at the fox beastman. The way she tuned the crossbow bolts on the fly showed a skill greater than the beastman scout I fought.

And that b*tch with the lieutenant insignia? No need to even mention her. She had a mana pool rivaling Befesha’s own, making a bad situation even worse.

But if it were only them, it wouldn’t be a problem.

The b*stard in the center of the women.

“……Erich, Ronstein.”

That guy’s the biggest pain in the ass. Strength-wise, he wasn’t even close to my toes, about on par with that crossbow-wielding fox b*tch, but he had another, invisible power.

The power to lead others.

Leadership.

“You, no way…!”

Bepisha pictured the face of a nameless man. More loathsome than any hero. The group of mages he led completely plunged Hellaire into the abyss.

His name was.

“Jeriem——!!”

Now that I see it, the resemblance is there. You can tell other blood has mixed in over the years, but he’s still got that damn annoying feeling about him.

“You, you! I’ll kill you, I swear!”

I said it like I was about to charge, but for some reason, Bepisha was backing away. My instincts were screaming, pathetically. Run, you can’t win…

I was afraid.

They say fighting is about momentum, not just strength. No matter how strong you are, if your morale is broken, you can’t bring out your true power.

Bepisha was exactly like that. Even if I said I was okay, the defeat of that day was deeply rooted in my subconscious, settling in as trauma.

Jeriem.

Isn’t that name more terrifying than silver bullets, which are practically poison to blood demons?

[“Reflect!”]

[“Draw eight strokes, and back to the starting point.”]

Bepisha’s blood vessels and the man’s magic collided.

The momentum… the man’s was more than enough to overpower.

Surely, a Householder?

“……To Awaken in such a short time?”

No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t Awakening.

He was purely and directly manipulating mana from every point, caring. Now that I see it, that’s what was interfering with Bepisha’s bloodflow manipulation.

“Annoying b*stard!”

Right now, that man’s magical skill was like a pupa just before emerging. If it tears through the cocoon, if it dries its wings… I’ll be pushed back by his overwhelming mana manipulation skills and be finished.

Correction. The young man before me is more dangerous than Jeriem.

I didn’t want to die pathetically here.

Yeah, retreat. Let’s choose a tactical retreat. To accomplish a great undertaking, you have to be patient sometimes. How long have I been enduring? I can endure a few more hours.

“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you–!!”

Bepisha screamed like that and ran through the blood wall.

Didn’t they say there’s no paradise where you run to?

“Why isn’t this, why isn’t the fire going out…!”

Bepisha, rolling through the blood to clean up the opposite side first, was confronted by the NIS special forces holding anti-tank weapons.

“You’ve finally come out. What’s with such a hard wall?”

At the same time as Admiral Dietz’s laughter, a shell exploded between Bepisha’s eyebrows.

*

Ah, right. Salvira. I understand why you decided to side with the humans.

You don’t need Him anymore.

But for the demons except for you, we still need Him, to the end.

So, shouldn’t I succeed in the ritual, even if it costs me my life?

[“……Immolation.”]

Demon, grant me a torrent of blood to drown them all.

With that final incantation from Befeisha, the corridor leading to the altar became a blood vessel.