“Hehehehe.”
Sophie, who had just been letting out a standard villainous laugh in mid-air, had her arrogance swept away by the autumn wind the moment her feet touched the wasteland ground.
No holy sword of justice descended from the heavens, and there was no sign of the Hero's reassuring presence.
Only the sound of the wind echoed across the empty wasteland.
“You finally got what was... uh, have you eaten yet today?”
Her dangerous tone dissipated awkwardly into the air.
The sneer on Sophie's face instantly vanished, her lips stretching naturally into an exceptionally bright and friendly smile.
Damn it...
The Hero, who was usually available at a moment's notice, had to go and run into trouble at this critical juncture.
Her plan to pull the weeds by the roots had failed instantly.
Sophie rubbed her hands together, her heels quietly shuffling backward on the grass.
The broad vampire wings on her back began to rapidly deform and melt, turning into small, fluffy black bats.
After hitting the ground, the bats immediately gathered into a black ball, rolling away across the turf.
I just came down to say hello. It would be rude not to leave now.
Even if the two of them were heavily injured, she still couldn't beat them.
“I won't bother you. I'm leaving now!”
She could just come back and search for these remnants later while riding on the Hero's back.
However...
Before Sophie could finish her sentence, the eyes of Maid A, who was holding the bat, suddenly turned cold.
She gripped her steel longsword with one hand and kicked off the rocky ground.
Her body shot forward like an arrow from a bow, the blade whipping up a sharp gale as it sliced straight toward Sophie's throat.
Why is everyone so eager to kill?
Galgame aren't like this. We should be popping up a few dialogue boxes to ease the tension.
Even if you don't have a name, isn't your character model pretty good? We can talk things out slowly.
Sophie had no choice but to swing her Oil-paper Umbrella.
Maid A was very strong, at least at the High-tier Swordsman level, but she didn't have a move like a mana torrent that could blast someone into the sky.
Sophie had already seen that yesterday.
So, should she use her main body to create distance first, then switch to bat form and run?
Or should she just take off the mask and use her looks to buy some time?
Although her Charisma was invincible against trash mobs, experts at the level of Bishop Bennis could still resist it. Her Charisma was simply “looking good,” making others like her more, but it didn't actually inflict a Charmed status.
Unless Maid A also wanted to have two hundred children with her.
Sophie couldn't say for sure if she could make the other party fall at her feet with a single look.
Regardless, buying time was the right move.
Sophie gripped the umbrella with one hand and reached for her mask with the other.
The two forces were about to collide.
“Why are you still using the same move as yesterday?” A polite question rang out as Maid A formed a hand seal in mid-air.
A crimson Flame Magic Arrow condensed in her palm, shooting out at a speed far exceeding her own body.
【Log: Skill [Seeking Defeat (Reversed) Lv. Max] has been triggered!】
BOOM!
The fire arrow slammed violently into the surface of the Oil-paper Umbrella, erupting in brilliant sparks and a scorching shockwave.
Sophie felt a massive force push against her arms, sending her sliding backward uncontrollably.
Even against a basic fire arrow, she still suffered a Narrow Defeat.
However, someone was even faster than her backward momentum.
Maid A arrived first. A red shadow flashed, and her figure appeared directly behind Sophie, intercepting her retreat.
The blade nimbly bypassed the Oil-paper Umbrella's defense and came to rest coldly against Sophie's fair neck.
The sharp edge cut through the skin, causing a small, crimson bead of blood to seep out.
“Your overall aura is weak, yet you seem to possess the ability to inevitably block the first strike?” Maid A's voice trembled slightly due to her ruptured organs, but it remained clear.
“You could tell?”
Sophie found this a bit hard to handle.
She put on a terrified expression, but her consciousness was controlling the round bats on the sunlit wasteland, making them roll away in all directions.
She needed to stall for a bit.
“Let's... let's put the sword down first. We can talk this out,” Sophie said.
“You clearly aren't afraid of death... Doesn't vampire resurrection require Blood Essence? Why don't you seem the least bit concerned? Oh, I see. You're stalling for time? Why? Are you preparing to flee? Even though you're a vampire carrying an umbrella, you aren't actually afraid of the sun, are you?”
Sophie: “?”
Is she... reading my mind?
“It's not mind-reading, just micro-expression sensing,” Maid A said.
Guess if I believe you.
What is with everyone lately?
So damn sneaky.
“Didn't we cross blades yesterday? It's only natural to understand your moves,” Maid A continued. “Besides, a maid must possess the skill to see through hearts. A maid must understand the preferences of others. That's quite normal, isn't it?”
Is it... normal?
Sophie didn't even bother to retort.
“Do you have any more trump cards?”
“I do. So, to avoid a mutually destructive end, let's go our separate ways.” Sophie puffed out her chest, putting on a fierce look. “Otherwise, if I use my trump card, we might both perish.”
“Use a stake! Use a stake to pierce her heart, hurry!”
The small bat in Maid A's arms shrieked. Elizabeth's shrill, frantic voice echoed across the wasteland.
“A stake through the heart will completely paralyze a vampire; she won't even be able to resurrect! Don't listen to her bluffing!”
Hearing her master's roar, Maid A showed no reaction.
“A maid should obey her master's commands,” Maid A said.
The hand gripping her longsword showed no sign of wanting to execute Sophie on the spot.
“But out of consideration for a maid's duty to protect her master's safety, the opponent definitely has a trump card, just like you do. Therefore, I plan to take her with us as we leave.”
“Then at least stall her!” The bat that was Elizabeth circled rapidly in the air. “The reinforcements are almost here!”
There really are reinforcements.
The classic 'beat the young one, the old one shows up.'
Sophie's face twitched.
She knew vampires always had their own sires, which was why she wanted to pull the weeds by the roots. If the Hero had killed Elizabeth and her sire together, she could have rested easy.
But right now...
She couldn't wait any longer!
With a flash of thought, Sophie immediately activated her innate ability in her vampire form.
Her main body exploded into a cloud of red mist with a “pop,” turning into a tiny bat.
At the same time, one of the bat balls that had rolled a hundred meters away instantly transformed into Sophie, and she bolted.
“Trying to run?” Elizabeth, in her small bat form, let out a piercing, sinister laugh. “Ancestor, save me!”
The sky... turned black.
Rate on N.U.
