“If the vampires had appeared at an ordinary time, we might at least have reduced the damage somewhat. But...”

“All the generals who had been commanding the awakened had answered that summons and vanished.”

“And the leadership, who could issue orders through [Guild Message], also lost contact entirely.”

No matter how powerful a force they had built, the leadership who could issue orders to everyone vanished in an instant, and even the generals—the strongest awakened, the ones capable of commanding people—disappeared without exception.

“The one saving grace was that General Kaio was later found alive... but even he was hardly in any normal condition.”

“With the Chairman’s help, the treatment succeeded, but perhaps because there was so much damage to his brain, he had lost his language ability and seemed unable to remember what happened back then.”

And.

I thought of Ariella, who had once served under me, and of the Grand Duke I had seen in that capital.

If I hadn’t placed restraints on Ariella, it wouldn’t have taken long for her to build a force that was practically a calamity.

And if that Grand Duke and its retainers had appeared all at once—

“The strongholds we had established all over were swept away in an instant.”

No matter how massive an awakened force had been, it must really have fallen apart in the blink of an eye.

Bang!

“If we had just been given a little more time, we might have unified even the survivors scattered across every region and overcome this apocalypse. But...”

“The ones who survived all had to scatter and flee, and the ones who couldn’t escape... became food for those vampires.”

Old Man Yang slammed the table hard enough to nearly break it, grinding his teeth, while Old Man Yun likewise let out a low groan.

And.

As I listened to them, I thought,

‘It’s definitely a hopeless story.’

At the same time, I turned toward the window and looked outside.

A huge island that couldn’t possibly be called small.

The fairly capable awakened inside that island.

And the two people before me... both powerhouses who had already surpassed level 30.

Even if they were nothing compared to their prime, the people here now were by no means a weak force.

And.

As for why that was possible...

I had a decent idea.

“And in that moment of utter despair.”

The two of them spoke with solemn expressions.

“We... met the Great Teacher.”

Everyone I had met here had one phrase in common on their status windows.

If the warriors of our guild, and I myself, had a section called [Martial Arts] in our status windows, then what was engraved in theirs was—

[Hunting Arts]

[Secret Arts of Vampire Hunters]

Methods of hunting.

And the prey of that hunt was none other than those vampires.

Someone had taught these people how to hunt those vampires.

“...This Teacher of yours.”

And.

That was probably—

“You heard the Teacher’s voice too, didn’t you?”

the one inside that blackout screen.

The one they followed while calling it the Chairman.

“Thanks to the Teacher’s teachings, at least those of us who remained barely managed to survive.”

Those secret arts they had learned had come from that very being.

***

“...Since you called the Teacher the Chairman, I thought perhaps one of the Party leadership you mentioned earlier had survived.”

“Didn’t we tell you? Every one of the leadership died, and all the generals except one died too.”

“We may be Vice Chairmen now, but that’s only because we later succeeded in surpassing level 30. Originally, even we were no more than commanders of individual units.”

The two old men spoke with somewhat burdened expressions.

“Right now, we are training in the secret arts the Chairman passed down to us, with the goal of one day reclaiming the land we lost. But...”

“As I said, the situation isn’t exactly good.”

The two men let out deep sighs.

“We were at least able to survive this way thanks to the Chairman’s help, but among us there are many who still feel uneasy about the Chairman. After all, unlike the previous leadership, who were wiped out, the process by which the Chairman came to lead us lacked a certain legitimacy.”

“Hmph! The moment the Chairman saved people who were obviously on the verge of death, that should have been legitimacy enough. They’re just ingrates who don’t know how to be thankful.”

I remembered the conversation those death squad members had had.

They had definitely said something about legitimacy—so this was what they had meant.

“...More important than that, our forces are far too lacking if we’re going to fight those vampires. Losing all the strongest humans from before hit us too hard. And...”

At that moment, Old Man Yang looked at me with a strange gleam in his eyes and opened his mouth.

“And then, at precisely this moment, you showed up by our side.”

“...?”

I tilted my head, and Old Man Yang grinned as he continued.

“Don’t you think it’s fate that someone who had been outside that wall would come all the way to this distant land at a time like this?”

“What are you talking about?” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Now that we know, through the Chairman’s words, that you are someone we can trust... we are willing to share with you the secret arts of vampire hunting that we possess.”

As if this was where the real point of the conversation began,

Old Man Yun leaned forward.

“You want to return to your homeland, don’t you? But no matter how strong an awakened you may be, returning alone to a homeland lying beyond that wall will never be easy.”

“But we can help you.”

Only then did I begin to understand what they were trying to say.

“You said even General Kaio fell to you. To be honest, that was hard to believe. But I saw with my own eyes how easily you broke Old Man Yun’s magic.”

“...Did you really have to bring that up?”

“That old man likes to act imposing, but for all that, he’s not some worthless mage. Seeing you break through it that easily... I can at least tell that you’re a very strong one.”

Old Man Yang’s eyes flashed as he stared straight at my face.

“These secret arts we learned only become more effective the stronger the one using them is. Just as ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) it was with General Kaio. If someone stronger than a general were to learn them... it would bring a major change to our front.”

“The proposal is simple. Hone our secret arts and help us fight those vampires. While that battle is being fought, we promise we too will fight at your side with everything we have. And then...”

“When that battle is over, we will do everything in our power to help you return to your homeland.”

After saying that, the two old men looked at me with triumphant smiles.

‘They probably think there’s no reason for me to refuse.’

Well.

That wasn’t exactly wrong.

They weren’t just asking for help.

They were offering to share the secret arts they had learned, and promising that afterward, they would support me with everything they had.

I wasn’t exactly on good terms with those vampires either.

And from their point of view, I was a foreigner stranded here alone with nowhere else to go.

They were probably thinking I had no real choice except to accept.

But...

“That.”

Mm.

How should I put it.

“I think I’ll need to think about it.”

“What? What is there to think about!”

At my words, Old Man Yang flushed red and shouted.

“That’s enough, old man.”

At that, Old Man Yun stretched out an arm, calming Yang down as he spoke.

“So you need time to think. Well, it is an important matter, so naturally it should be decided with care. I understand your position. But...”

Even so, Old Man Yun also looked at me like he couldn’t understand.

“I don’t know what exactly you’re worrying over, but to those vampires, you and we are nothing more than prey.”

“Probably.”

“In the end, if you want to survive in this land, the only choice is to stand together. And as for returning to your homeland afterward, there is no force besides us that would be able to help you.”

“I know that too. It’s just...”

I shrugged and said,

“There’s one thing bothering me.”

“...I don’t know what it is, but I see.”

He looked at me with an odd expression and nodded.

Then he waved a hand, sent a spell somewhere outside, and said,

“In that case, we’ll assign you quarters.”

As that mana flowed out of the room, I sensed someone walking this way from outside.

Probably the person Old Man Yun had called to guide me to my room.

“Think it over carefully before deciding. Preferably, I’d like it to be a positive answer.”

“Understood.”

“Unfortunately, our situation isn’t all that good. I don’t think we can give you very much time to think... will that be all right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

As I left the room, moving toward that approaching presence, I said,

“I’ll probably settle that question... pretty quickly.”

***

And so, I headed to the nearby lodging they assigned me.

Perhaps because of that sun, electricity wasn’t in short supply.

The quarters were equipped with quite a few things that ran on electricity.

Among them was a digital clock, and when I looked at it, it read 11 p.m.

‘...So this is what a white night feels like.’

With the outside still that bright, for a moment I almost wondered if the clock was broken.

Anyway.

After arriving at the room, I lay down on the bed and thought for a while.

‘There was a lot in that story that was shocking in all kinds of ways.’

Like how they had managed to conquer an entire region in less than half a year.

Or how a human force that had grown that huge had collapsed in an instant and ended up driven onto this island.

There were a lot of parts that didn’t make sense.

But most of them were only vague doubts on the level of, ‘Can something like that really happen?’

So I couldn’t even turn those doubts into anything concrete.

All I could do was let it pass with a vague, ‘I guess something happened.’

On the other hand—

‘...Hmm.’

There was exactly one point I could suspect very specifically and very clearly.

And more than that, there was a way to confirm that suspicion, and it wasn’t especially difficult.

‘The question is whether I’m allowed to try it or not...’

After hesitating for a moment, I let out a sigh and pushed myself up.

“If possible, I’d rather just let it slide.”

And then, hiding my presence as much as possible, I stepped out of the room.

“But of all things... I’ve gone through something similar before.”

The place I was heading to was...

the place where they had interrogated me earlier in the day,

and—

‘the very place where the ritual that creates that sun was carried out.’

Creeeak...

When I slipped into the room while hiding my presence as much as I could, unlike earlier in the day, when there had been quite a few people there, it seemed this wasn’t a place anyone came and went from at night.

The entire space was dark, without a single light lit.

‘Calling it night feels strange when the sun outside is blazing like that.’

During the day, the electric lights had been on, so I hadn’t thought much of it, but it seemed this room didn’t have a single window leading outside.

With even the lights and candles extinguished, it was pitch-black inside.

Fortunately, thanks to that vampire blood, I could still see a little even in the dark.

When I lifted my head slightly, in that silent space with no one there,

I saw the small blackout screen set in the middle of the second floor.

And.

In front of it—

-For an outsider to be wandering around, it seems a bit late at night.

someone was standing there, quietly looking down at me from the first floor.

Ash-gray hair with a pale gray tint, and skin as white as snow.

An androgynous appearance that made it impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

And yet, it was someone with a beauty like an ancient statue.

-For you to come all the way here at such a late hour.

And.

As I looked at that figure,

I—

tightened my grip on the things I had brought with me from the moment I left that room,

[Nine Forms of Dugu] and [Sword Conquers the Central Plains].

And then—

-That must mean your thoughts were the same as mine.

Kaaang!!!

I swung that blade with all my strength, and knocked away the red light flying straight for the center of my brow.