"Are you sure he's not just faking it to get out of this?" I inquired skeptically.

  "No, I am certain……he is in no condition to fight," Replied Atticus affirmatively.

  After Persia's fight against Lagusa, we had begun heading for one of the empty huts. We bumped into Ekai, who offered some advice to Persia on how to use her nose to react faster when fighting. Atticus then came out of one of the huts, looking for me. He wanted to talk to me about Misen, who had apparently lost a fraction of his life force during the battle against the Vampires in the Rustlands.

  As a result, he was experiencing fever-like symptoms, and I couldn't fix it with my shared Healing Factor……I could probably solve the issue if I transferred someone else's life force into him, but I didn't want anyone to know about that ability just yet, plus doing so would only shift the problem onto the person I drain. And also because I myself had only discovered that I could do this like, five minutes ago.

  And besides……I didn't really like Misen, so there was that. According to Atticus, the symptoms would ease after about a week or so, but he wouldn't be completely back to normal, his lifespan would take a hit, in proportion to the amount of life force he lost.

  "I estimate that he has lost five……maybe ten years of his natural lifespan," Remarked Atticus, staring at him with a frown.

  "Oh……that's not the most thrilling news. Well, I suppose there is no choice but for me to go back to the Rustlands," Sighed Misen dramatically, trying to hide his relief, but it was clear how eager he was……that's why I thought he might be faking this.

  "I hate to agree, but you'd be useless if you're sick, so yeah……go back," I replied with a shrug, before turning to Atticus, "Hey, if losing your life force decreases lifespan, then does consuming life force increase it?"

  If so, Valaque would have a lifespan ranging in the hundred thousands of years……

  "Not quite……your own life force cannot be replenished or increased by consuming the life forces of others, so you cannot increase your own lifespan……at least, not directly. When you consume the life force of others, it physically strengthens your own body, the extent will vary depending on the quality of the life force you consumed……you have experienced this, how much more potent Vampire life forces are than human life forces. When your body is in greater physical condition, the deterioration of your life force will slow down, therefore increasing your lifespan, though not by very much, humans have naturally short lifespans to begin with, so I cannot imagine one extending their own life by more than, perhaps, twenty to twenty-five years even if they consume the life forces of tens of thousands of other humans," Explained Atticus, before adding, "I can see the quality and potency of a human's life force and understand it quite well, however I could not do so when I was a Vampire……this ability is unique to Fuo and I, she can see it as well, although she cannot understand it as well as I can."

  "Huh……I was kinda expecting her to chime in and yell at you just now," I remarked with a laugh.

  "It appears that she is still sulking over the fact that she could not inflict any significant damage to Eighty-Seven, even though I had been the one who was in control when fighting her……it is rather disturbing, and very annoying, she keeps repeating 'I want to get stronger' over and over, I cannot block out the noise," Sighed Atticus, with a tired look on his face.

  Wow, all that and she still didn't bother chiming in. She must be feeling really down right now.

  "Hey, give me the teleport spells, I want to leave already," Said Misen impatiently.

  He's not even pretending anymore. Dick.

  "They're with Instructor Tabbs, go ask her. And take her with you, since someone needs to bring back the teleport spells once you're done with them."

  "Fine," He replied, rushing out of the hut eagerly and looking for the instructor.

  This wasn't exactly ideal, our numbers weren't great to begin with, so losing even one person was a blow……but in his condition, he wouldn't be any help, so technically we weren't losing anything, I guess. Well, I don't have anything to do right now, so I'll go get some rest in one of the other huts with Persia.

  "Later, Atticus, let me know if there's any major movement from the Vampires. And Fuo, uh……cheer up, I guess."

  "Be quiet," Came an irritable mumble in reply.

  She finally responded. Anyway, with that, I exited and found Persia, who was also looking for me. We went into an empty hut and sat down on the 'bed', which was just a raised bit of earth with a smooth surface……well, this isn't exactly a situation where expecting a mattress would be reasonable, and I for one was perfectly fine with sleeping on hard surfaces……if I got any pains or aches from it, I could just heal myself.

  "You know, you've really been getting my heart rate up lately, and not in a good way……when you attacked Eighty-Seven and she chased after you, I was seriously freaking out. Today, not as much since I was ready to step in at a moment's notice, but you gotta start playing it a lot more safe," I said with a sigh, before flicking the tip of her nose, "If anything ever happened to you, I'm not sure what I'd do……heh, maybe destroy the world?"

  "……maybe don't go that far. And I'm sorry for worrying you, Kuro……when the ambush failed, I just got a bad feeling and before I could stop myself, I was rushing to the front……and today, knowing everything that man put you through, I just couldn't hold back," She replied apologetically.

  Well, I guess I could understand where she was coming from……I remember how much rage I felt when I saw that slave trader who locked up and tortured her, and how badly I wanted to kill him……and then I did kill him. My only regret was that I had no choice but to give him a quick death since, you know, the whole Zombie thing was happening when I killed him.

  "If I'm being honest, I might've probably reacted the same way if our roles were reversed……and all things considered, I felt pretty good when you destroyed Lagusa's right arm, that was awesome," I grinned, kissing the side of her head.

  "Yeah, that was satisfying……and I've never compressed my Expansive Wind Sph……I-I mean, I've never compressed that attack so much before, the more I compress it the faster it expands when I release it."

  No way……was I……was I hearing things……?

  "Woah……did you just use the name I gave that attack? Persia……I think I'm getting emotional, my cute little Cat Girl is finally using."

  "Th-that was a slip of the tongue, forget I said that! And hey, don't call me little……we're basically the same height!" She exclaimed in protest, her face turning red.

  "No, I'm about two inches taller than you……wait, unless you count your cat ears……"

  I was about five feet and ten inches tall, and she was about five eight without counting her cat ears.

  "Well, I wouldn't want to be taller than you, anyway, I think our current height difference is perfect," She said with a sigh, before resting her head on my shoulder and linking her arm with mine.

  Yeah, I know the very freedom of humanity in this world was currently at grave risk, but regardless of all that, in moments like these, I just felt like I could die happy……

  ———————————————————————————


  Point-of-View: Tirayze Valaque

  ———————————————————————————


  "That little brat, such pettiness, refusing to heal my arms completely, do you have any idea how painful this is……tch, who does he think he is, and after I saved him from the world of child-trafficking, no less," Complained Arturo, letting out a sigh of relief as he healed his skinless forearm.

  "I mean, you did sell the guy out to a literal cult, so there's that," I pointed out with a laugh.

  I had never seen him so riled up before, it was kinda funny. Well, he probably hadn't expected to have been beaten in that fight, even I was surprised by that.

  "And more importantly, that girl with the cat ears……who the hell is she? She wasn't on the list of Adventurers we had made note of, and yet she was strong enough to nearly kill me, even if I hadn't been going all out, still……"

  Yeah, he was right about that, I was pretty startled when his arm suddenly got shredded.

  "Well, isn't Kuro still a student Adventurer? She looked about the same age, and they seemed pretty close too," I recalled.

  "Hm……yes, I suppose that makes sense. And she is not the only one……for the attack plan, the fifteen who will be heading for the castle, of those from their side that will be a part of that group, that boy with the brown hair and sleepy eyes……he does not match any description of the Adventurers we made note of either. We must not forget that they will all be our enemies if and when the Vampires are taken out of the picture," Pointed out Arturo with a concerned frown.

  "Yeah, you have a point, and they might be thinking the same thing. But we shouldn't do anything stupid until the Vamps are dealt with, we're short on numbers as it is."

  "Indeed……for now, we must focus on ensuring that this operation to eliminate the Vampires is successful, everything else comes after……"

  ———————————————————————————


  Point-of-View: Kuro Black

  ———————————————————————————


  A few hours later, as the sun began to set, preparations for the attack were underway. Using the blank Store spells we'd brought, more large-scale attacks were being Stored, which would all be used for the diversionary attack to the west. Valaque was adding some of his own large-scale attacks to the arsenal of Stored attacks, along with a few others.

  Hm, is something wrong? A couple of the A-Ranked Adventurers were going through the Extract Spells, one of them with a look of slight concern.

  "……I think one of the spells is missing, one of the ones labeled 'FT'."

  "Are you sure? Maybe you miscounted."

  "Maybe, I don't know……"

  'FT', for flaming tornado, we had labeled the Extract spells so that we'd know which is which……hm, if it's just one spell missing, maybe we just misplaced it? Losing one spell shouldn't be too big a problem, with the amount of firepower we do have at our disposal in Extract spells, the lapdogs who were tasked with the diversion should be able to take out a fair number of Vampires……well, assuming they could stay alive long enough to fire off all the attacks……and assuming that they could aim properly. They had already used the Appearance Copy and Paste spells to appear as Valaque and the members of the Retribution Tier.

  As for everyone else, the forty-nine- or rather, forty-eight with Misen gone -who were to attack from the north, we had agreed to let each person play their role as they pleased, with the only condition being that they must absolutely not be discovered under any circumstances, and if they were, they should either try to take out the witnesses or try to pass themselves off as a surviving Silvland Adventurer. And by witnesses, I obviously only mean Vampire witnesses, there was zero cause to kill any of the Silvland civilians, even the probably-shitty nobles.

  We held another meeting to discuss strategy, and came to the conclusion that keeping things as simple as possible gave us a better chance of success, and giving everyone free reign to act at their own discretion once we sneak inside the wall would be best. That, and I had a feeling that certain people in this group wouldn't follow complex instructions at all and just ignore them while doing whatever they wanted, so we might as well account for that ahead of time and impose the bare minimum of instructions……do as you please, just don't be seen.

  I was already fully prepared, and didn't really need to do anything, so I was currently walking around and seeing how everyone on my side was doing. Persia went to sleep after the meeting we had, she sometimes took short naps at random times, even if she wasn't that tired, just like a cat. Might be the result of her Anima. Or maybe she just had a lazy streak in her.

  Az went to asleep too, unsurprisingly. Most of everyone else was outside right now, roaming around or talking or otherwise keeping themselves occupied, probably too nervous to sit still. Anyway, as I was going around, I noticed a really unusual sight, and went to see what was going on……

  "Hey, Selesa, you actually look serious for once……are you finally cured from your perversions?" I inquired, walking up to her.

  She was seated on the ground with a grim expression, along with a Les, Gela and Vi.

  "That would be too good to be true, sadly," Sighed Les wistfully.

  "Hey, I'm not just some comic relief character, you know, I can be serious when necessary," Said Selesa defensively, though she sounded pretty half-hearted.

  You'd think a battle against Vampires would qualify as a moment where being serious would be necessary, but if I heard right, she excitedly fly up a Vampire's vag……well, she did look pretty serious right now, I wonder what's up……

  "This isn't like you at all, something on your mind?" I asked curiously.

  "Well, it's just……I'm kinda dreading this, you know? But at the same time, I don't feel like backing out of it or running away……Naro died because of these monsters, and if they're left alive, more people will die. I knew all that already, but it didn't actually sink in till I saw the aftermath of the battle in the Rustlands……blood and guts everywhere, the stench of death, familiar faces lying in pools of their own gore……"……

  who are you? She seemed like a completely different person.

  "All we can do is make sure this attack succeeds, because if we fail, that's it. Nearly all the strongest people in the world are gathered here right now, after all," Pointed out Vi objectively.

  Huh, she was usually a lot more upbeat and optimistic, guess that just emphasized the gravity of the situation. I then noticed Gela staring at something with a frown, unusually quiet.

  "You're usually a lot more vocal, Birdbrain. Got nothing violent to say? Don't tell me that you're getting all serious about this too?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

  "Over there……isn't she from back then……?" She replied, her eyes narrowed as she nudged Vi.

  I followed her line of sight to see who she was looking at……and saw a familiar head of messy, wild blonde hair in a ponytail, brown eyes with glasses, and a missing left arm and lame left foot. Dista Matist……I'd hoped that she had died in the explosion, but no such luck, apparently.

  She didn't seem to be doing anything, just roaming around aimlessly……well, it's not like she had a lab to work in at the moment, so she probably didn't have anything to do. She then spotted us, her eyes narrowing with a curious expression……and then, she began walking over.

  "Hey, I remember you, you're the guy who my Pain Amplifier didn't work on! It has been a while," She greeted me with a grin, before her eyes widened with recognition as she saw Vi and Gela, "Oh, I remember you two, too! I don't see the man with the horns though……oh, did he die?"

  "……I wanna tear her apart, let me at her," Gela spoke up before anyone else could respond, licking her lips and clicking her metal claws together.

  "I know how you feel, but we shouldn't do anything to antagonize their side right now," Said Vi, putting a hand on Gela's shoulder to calm her down, but she herself looked pretty pissed off right now.

  "If you've got nothing important to say, then leave……we have no interest in making small talk with you," I warned her.

  "So harsh, what did I ever do to deserve such resentment?" Sighed Dista with a tilt of her head.

  "I'm curious about that too……I didn't think she was all that bad, especially compared to the others I worked under," Chimed in Selesa curiously.

  Oh, right, she met her during the infiltration, I forgot about that.

  "Huh? Do I know you?"

  "Oh, uh, sort of……I didn't look like this when we met."

  Okay, Gela and Vi look kinda grouchy, but I don't think they'll attack her……I'll go look around elsewhere.

  "Well, I'm off to……wander around. Don't kill anyone in the meantime……I'm looking at you, Birdbrain."

  "Let me think about it……hm, only if you agree to duel me when we get back, and without a safety barrier!" Replied Gela with a glint in her eyes.

  "Sure, but……it's your funeral. A funeral for a bird."……

  tch, no response, I was counting on Selesa to notice that Office reference. Well, whatever. With that, I turned around and walked away, observing how the rest of the group was doing. Some of those with large-scale attacks at their disposal were helping with stocking up on more Stored attacks for the diversion, including Ekai, Valaque and a few of the Retribution Tier members.

  A few others were training, though it mostly seemed to be in order to distract themselves and keep from getting nervous or restless. I spotted Siert sitting with Siela Larwas and Oreg Dinwiy, with a miserable expression on his face while the two of them were trying to make him feel better……but the usual pattern with that guy was that the harder you try to make him feel better, the worse he actually ends up feeling. His self-deprecating tendency was on another level.

  Instructor Tabbs and Yuur Ganroh were discussing something amongst themselves, they seemed relatively calm compared to most of the others, especially the A-Ranked Adventurers here……well, they were both highly experienced S-Ranks, so they're probably used to having to play it cool, though I expect that even they had to be nervous to some extent.

  Instructor Tabbs had brought up a good point during the meeting we just had, we can't afford to have drawn out battles once we sneak into Silvland, and should therefore each decide on specific attacks we can use to kill them as fast as possible. She also suggested this, once the thirty-plus of us who would be going around to the west and east after sneaking through the north side of the wall reach the west and east, they should rendezvous, drop the barriers and cause a commotion to further distract from the center.

  After considering it, we all agreed to add that to the plan. And since with Misen gone, our numbers were exactly forty-eight, and the result of Gela's fight making it sixteen people who'd be charging straight for the castle……we divided our numbers into three groups of sixteen, one to head for the castle, one to head for the east and one to head for the west. We decided on rendezvous points for the east and west as well. But then we realized that we'd be too far to coordinate with each other and wouldn't be able to time the attacks……but Lagusa had a solution to that.

  He had a few mechanical stopwatches on hand, nine to be precise, we could use those to coordinate our attacks based on a time agreed upon in advance. This world did have portable mechanical clocks, but they were kinda bulky and you had to wind them up every twelve hours, so keeping them in perfect sync was pretty difficult.

  These stopwatches were a lot more lightweight, and would keep ticking for two whole days before needing to be winded up again. They had been in the possession of the team of lapdogs and researchers that had been away when the Vampires attacked, the rest of their stock, which was within the walls, had gotten blown up.

  Apparently, they'd even had stuff like binoculars, which would've been really useful. But all the weapons, research, serums, spells, and the vast variety of inventions they had made, those were all gone. And there was no point in crying over what we didn't have. We could only focus on what we can do, which for now, was discussing and fine-tuning our strategy.

  Oh, and strategy wasn't the only thing we discussed in that last meeting……we had also agreed on when we should launch the counterattack. We couldn't afford to wait too long, if the Vampires moved out to attack before we did, we lose the element of surprise, which was highly crucial to the success of this plan. And so, the counterattack would commence soon……tomorrow night, in fact……

  _____________________________________________

  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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