Chapter 119: The Disappearance Case – Part 2
It seemed that the true culprit behind the recent disappearance cases was none other than this vampire’s abduction scheme.
Now that I thought about it, I’d heard that vampires possess the power to charm or even dominate people entirely.
“I’ll take all of you… make you mine,” the beautiful vampire said, her words dripping with seductive malice as she smiled with an eerie, intoxicating charm.
From somewhere out of sight, a swarm of bats materialized, descending upon Shifa-san and the others like a living shadow.
“Hehe… once these little ones draw your blood, you’ll be mine, completely,” she purred.
A flood of tiny, darting bats was almost impossible to fend off entirely. It seemed like a hopeless scenario, but then—
“Too many—!”
Even as a scream tore from her lips, Sena’s sword flashed with lightning speed, cutting down every bat in sight, each stroke precise and merciless.
“Don’t come any closer,” Shifa warned, using the power of Empress’s Glory to slow the bats’ movements, swinging her spear in wide arcs to knock them from the air.
“Impressive…” the vampire’s eyes widened, taken aback by the display. But the reaction was brief—her smile quickly returned.
“Looks like the others aren’t faring as well, though,” she mused.
“Hey, don’t come this way—!!”
Anii-san was desperately fleeing from the bloodthirsty bats. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they overtook her.
“Ugh… ow,”
Meanwhile, Sarassa-san was caught once more in a vampiric bite, succumbing far too easily.
“Come here, now,” the vampire beckoned.
“…?”
“What is it?” someone asked.
“Umm… Lightning,” Sarassa muttered.
“Gyaah!?”
Her lightning magic struck the vampire head-on.
“What… how is this possible!? I definitely bit you!”
“It doesn’t seem to have affected me…” Sarassa-san replied calmly. Perhaps the holy water she’d been drenched in earlier was still protecting her. Anii-san seemed to realize this too.
“If I just use this…!”
She splashed herself with holy water over her head.
“Tch! You’ve got quite the troublesome toys with you! But I wonder how long that effect will last…” the vampire sneered.
“Hmm—how about we just defeat her before then?”
“!?!”
Before anyone could react, Sena, having already dispatched the last of the bats, closed the distance to the vampire.
“If I cut her neck, she should die… right? —Huh?”
Her strike aimed for the neck, but it met only empty air. In an instant, the vampire transformed into countless bats, dispersing into the sky before reforming her human form once again.
“You’re too clever…! But at this altitude, no matter how hard you try, you can’t reach me, can you?”
Hovering in the air on her black wings, the vampire floated beyond sword range.
“Not out of reach!”
Unfazed, Sena swung her sword anyway. A shockwave erupted, sending the vampire flying backward.
“—!?!”
It was the special effect that Miranda-san had imbued in the sword. The vampire slammed into the wall, writhing in pain.
“Ugh… what is this… already…”
Sena readied another strike, but the vampire vanished again, turning into a torrent of bats that scattered in all directions.
“I’ll let you win today. But capturing me? Impossible. I’ll find another city and enjoy the blood of young women there instead,” she taunted, the bats carrying her away into the night sky.
“She got away…?”
“There’s nothing we can do for now. First, let’s find the victims,” Shifa-san said.
We split up to search the mansion and eventually discovered the captives in the basement.
“!? You… you’re here…?”
“Relax. We’ve come to rescue you,” one of us reassured them.
“R-Really? We can leave here?”
Thankfully, everyone appeared unharmed. It seemed the vampire had been after their blood specifically, but they had been fed otherwise, so at least their bodies were cared for.
Still, the victims were almost all young women. Was this… the vampire’s preference?
Among them were also Lua-san and her companions. They, too, had fallen victim.
“Waaahhh! I was so scared! I just want to go home!”
“Yes, yes, you’re safe now,” someone comforted her.
Lua-san wept with relief, her companions gently soothing her. Compared to the others, she hadn’t been held long, but mentally, she’d been shaken far more than it seemed.
“It’s thanks to them we were able to do this. We should properly thank them,” someone noted.
“Th-thank you! I… I’m so sorry for everything awful that happened! I… I was jealous, really!” Lua sniffled, tears and snot streaming down her face as she offered both thanks and apology.
Anii could only respond, “Uh… it’s… okay… I don’t mind…”
Once everyone was accounted for, we led the women out of the mansion.
“We’ll head to the Adventurers’ Guild,” Shifa decided.
“Yes. Not just to report this, but also to ensure they’re protected.”
The guild was likely one of the safest places in this city. Considering the psychological state of the victims, leaving them there for the time being was wise.
Still, the vampire lingered in my thoughts. As she’d said before leaving, she would probably strike in another city soon.
“I should consult with Bladia-san,” I suggested.
Bladia-san was a vampire as well. Perhaps she’d know a way to stop this. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and vampire for vampire, after all.
With that decided, I informed Shifa-san and headed to the Second Family Garden. She and her team would be busy with reports for a while, and as a non-adventurer, I had nothing else to do—perfect timing.